Silvertown Tunnel (4)

Andrew Boff: The Centre for London, in their recent report on Building for a New Urban Mobility claims that:
"Sadiq Khan set an objective to increase the share of public transport, walking & cycling from 65% today to 80% in 2041. Based on the rate of progress in the last 5 years, our forecast indicates that London will only reach the 80 per cent target in 2070."
Clearly with your new 2030 carbon neutrality target you're going to have to move even faster to reduce driving and increase that share for walking, cycling, and public transport. What new policies are you going to bring in to make sure that you hit your target?

The Mayor: My Transport Strategy sets out how we will achieve my vision for 80 per cent of trips in London to be on foot, by cycle or using public transport by 2041. The policies and schemes set out in it will help to create a transport network that provides viable and attractive alternatives that allows Londoners to reduce their dependency on cars. It includes a range of policies to encourage more walking and cycling, ensuring public transport fares are affordable and, along with the London Plan, a focus on ensuring new developments allow a greater proportion of people to live in locations that are well connected to jobs and opportunities by walking, cycling or using public transport. You can find my Transport Strategy herehttps://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/mayors-transport-strategy-2018.pdf
In the shorter term, Transport for London’s (TfL’s) Business Plan sets out how the number of trips made by active, efficient and sustainable modes will increase to around 65 per cent by 2024. You can read TfL’s latest Business Plan herehttp://content.tfl.gov.uk/tfl-business-plan-2019.pdf.
To achieve the improvements that London needs, it is essential that TfL has certainty over long-term steady and sustained government investment that will allow it to maintain and improve our public transport network and make it a realistic alternative to the car. I therefore welcome the support of the London Assembly in making this case.

King’s College

David Kurten: How much has TfL paid in total to King’s College with regard to research on air quality since you took office on 8th May 2016?

The Mayor: King’s College London has been commissioned by Transport for London (TfL) to carry out a range of air quality monitoring and study activities since 8 May 2016.
This includes air quality modelling as part of regular updates of the London Atmospheric Emissions Inventory; modelling work supporting the Mayor’s Transport Strategy and London Environment Strategy; and the air quality monitoring on London Underground at Waterloo to assess the impact of deep cleaning trials on the Bakerloo Line.
All contracts between TfL and King’s College for work in support of air quality activities have been awarded through TfL’s competitively tendered environmental framework. Payments to King’s College since 8 May 2016 have totalled approximately £873,000.
Additionally, TfL is commissioning two academic studies to be conducted by independent researchers from Imperial College and King’s College London to look at health impacts associated with Tube dust on TfL staff. These have an estimated cost of £200,000. These are likely to take 18-24 months to complete.

Pay for bus drivers

Caroline Pidgeon: What steps are you taking to ensure there is a long-term increase in wages for bus drivers through TfL’s contracts for London’s bus routes?

The Mayor: Minimum pay for bus drivers increases each year with the Retail Price Index as it is linked to the London Professional Wage (LPW) and I’ve now introduced the Bus Driver Retention Scheme to reward them in their second and third consecutive years of service.
The LPW saw starter pay go up from £23,000 in 2016 to £25,530 in April this year, and helps pay keep pace with living cost rises for not just new bus drivers but also those with longer service records.The retainer scheme will see full-time drivers with uninterrupted service on routes get £1,000 in year two and a further £600 in year three.
As pay is a matter between operators and their employees, I have looked more widely at helping bus drivers improve their working conditions and wellbeing. I have funded a £6 million scheme to ensure bus drivers have toilets in the most-needed parts of the network, introduced the Licence for London to help drivers move jobs on similar rates of pay and conditions, and launched the bus driver retention scheme to reward drivers who stay in their jobs after two and three years of continuous service.
These measures will hopefully make the profession more attractive in London, as well as help bus operators reduce high rates of staff turnover. Bus operators must also develop fatigue management systems for how they run services in London, which may bring about further work-life and wellbeing benefits.

Pollution at bus stops (2)

Leonie Cooper: What work has been done to assess the potential for ‘greening’ bus stops to mitigate pollution?

The Mayor: I believe everyone has the right to clean air, and I’m determined to do all we can to reduce air pollution in London. Alongside world-leading schemes like the central London Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) and its expansion to inner London in 2021, Transport for London (TfL) is helping to tackle pollution at bus stops by cleaning up the bus fleet.
The entire bus fleet is being upgraded to meet or exceed the Euro VI standard. TfL is 92 per cent of the way there and has been on course to complete this upgrade this year - cutting the most harmful tailpipe emissions of each upgraded bus by up to 80 per cent. TfL is now reviewing this target as the Covid-19 response has disrupted supply chains for the retrofit technology needed to upgrade each bus. TfL is also developing a bus electrification strategy for London to ensure we roll out zero-emission buses as quickly and affordably as possible to meet my aim of the fleet being entirely zero-emission by no later than 2037.
TfL is also aiming to plant at least 1,000 street trees this year to meet the Mayor’s Transport Strategy target, and as explained in my response to Mayor’s Question 2019/17308, is trialling ‘green’ bus shelters to improve biodiversity and customer experience. Five bus shelters are due for conversion by early summer 2020.